Innsbruck & Hall, Austria

Monday

Hofkirche! This is an unusual and very amazing church. It is the burial place of Holy Roman emperor Maximilian I (1459-1519). Or is it? Maximilian I was so obsessed with death that during the last years of his life he travelled with his coffin as well as vivid descriptions for the mutilation and public display of his body to illustrate the 'perishableness of all earthly glory.' Just lovely. He planned a grand tomb for the castle chapel in Wiener Neustadt, which would include 28 life-sized statues of his 'ancestors' to be lining his tomb as a funeral procession. When he died he was buried in the castle chapel, but only 11 statues had been completed. His son & grandson continued the task, finishing the last statue in 1555. However, it was discovered that the statues and mausoleum would not fit! A new tomb and monastery were built in Innsbruck, the Hofkirche, to house the tomb and its watching statues. However, the statues are doomed to watch over an empty grave as his body was never transferred from the chapel at Wiener Neustadt.

The empty tomb

Imperial Caesar Maximiliano (taken through the iron fencing)

The tomb with its guard

Ferdinand II, King of Aragon, 1516, and Joanna the Mad, Queen of Castile, 1555

This chap is hilarious!

The attention to detail is incredible

Arthur, King of England (a little fanciful, perhaps?)

A bit more about Maximilian I: upon the death of his father, Frederick III, in 1493 he became ruler over the German kingdom as well as the head of the house of Habsburg. Remember them and their gradually lengthening chins? Here he is. Although his chin is jutting out a bit, it has not yet gotten too out of control, but look at that nose!

Maximilian allied himself with the Vatican, Spain, and the various Italian states in order to drive out the French. No one liked the French. He gave the Low Countries (Burgundy, Belgium and the Netherlands) to his son, Philip, and married him off to the Spanish Infanta, Joanna the Mad (she was apparently unstable to begin with, but his infidelity made things dramatically worse).

When the Reichstag (Imperial Diet) met at Worms (I am not making this up!) in 1495 Maximilian attempted to initiate reforms for public peace and taxation, but no solution was found. His desires for expansion pressured Poland, Bohemia and Hungary. More marriages took place to strengthen his position (and to further inbreeding and chin lengthening). All in all, from what I read, as Holy Roman Emperor, he was the most powerful person in Europe.

After strolling around the Altstadt of Innsbruck, and admiring the Goldnes Dachl (remember from the last post?),

we found our way back to the car and back to our flat.

Here I am with my dear friend Manfred

Glenn had come down with a cold, so Manfred and I went to the Apotek where the pharmacist recommended two medicines for him. After plying him with treatment he began to improve, but was not wanting dinner, so Manfred and I went by ourselves up to the village of Igls, which overlooks Innsbruck. After a frustrating time hunting for a parking place we were able to enjoy a delicious Tirolean dinner.

The following day, we all went to the neighboring town of Hall. We climbed up a steep hill on a cobblestoned lane to the Aldstadt, which is relatively unscathed from the destruction of WWII, and was delightful to explore. The tourists had apparently not done their research, and Hall seemed to have only locals out and about. Such a treat!

Discussing where to go from here

After apfel struedel, coffee, tea and beer, we walked back down the steep hill to the car and drove back to our flat. Tomorrow we will leave Austria behind for Bavaria.